Fighting For Her Life
by greywingmechanic
Summary: Calli Conners. She just wanted everything to go right. How did it all go so wrong?
1. Chapter 1

Calli couldn't believe it. She was finally here. The Krimson Guard training facility. She had been waiting so long to join the KG. Ever since she was 8. She had been rescued by a KG officer in the port. Wandering too close to the edge, Calli had slipped and fallen into the cold, deep water. The officer was in after her so fast, she barely knew what had happened. Ever since that day, she had wanted so badly to be just like the man that had saved her life. And she had never forgotten his face...

Calli walked down the historic hallway, bag slung over her shoulder, staring at all the pictures and plaques that hung on the walls. Not many girls were accepted into the KG, so she was both proud and excited to be walking here. She reached the banquet hall, nervous to open the door. She rested her hand on it for just a moment, trying to take it all in. Once she had gathered herself, Calli slowly pushed the door open and stepped inside. The huge room was decorated plainly, with a few red "Welcome" banners placed around it. She knew this day did not include a celebration. That privilage would come on the day the recruits graduated from the training program. Calli was determined to be one of those graduates. She looked around the room at the 29 other recruits that had been accepted. Not another girl among them. She had a moment of pride over this fact, but that was lost after a few of the looks she recieved from some of the guys in the room.

Calli walked along the wall where she spied an open seat at an empty table. She sat down and had only been there for a few minutes, fidgeting, when one of the guys came overand sat down next to her.

"Hello," he said, offering his hand in welcome.

"Hi," she replied, taking his hand and smiling.

"The name's Axel," he said, in a voice that sounded sincere.

"Calli. Calli Conners," she said.

"Well, Calli, I would be honered if you would be my friend!" Axel said with a smile the size of the Wasteland on his face.

Calli laughed and nodded her head, "Yeah. Okay. I'll go with that!"

As they sat talking, a man walked onto the stage at the front of the room.

"Could everyone take a seat please?" People were reluctant to quiet down. "TAKE A SEAT!" he yelled out in a gruff voice. Calli looked up, only to recognize the KG officer who had saved her life all those years ago.

"My name, is Commander Torn."


	2. Chapter 2

Calli looked on in amazement. She never thought she would see this man again. She had only remembered the tattoos._ Torn. _Calli decided it was a suitable name.

"Now," Torn began. "Tonight is the last time you will get to act like children. From here on out, you're adults, and you'll be treated as such. Want out? The door is behind you."

No one moved. Everyone stared in silence as Torn continued to speak:

"You will be shown to your rooms and then the rest of the night is yours. Enjoy it. Because it will probably be the most fun you will have in the next two years."

Calli started to get fidgety. The Commander had looked right at her as he said this. And that mader her even more nervous than she already was. Did he know she was the little girl from the port? She doubted it. Torn continued.

"When you get to your rooms, you will find your schedules and a map of the training facility and grounds. Use it to your advantage and explore during you free time. The restricted zones are marked. You get caught, you get severely punished. End of story."

You could hear a pin drop during the few seconds he took to study everyones faces.

"Now. Waiters will be bringing in dinner for you. Get to know each other. When you ar efinished, you can exit through the door over there and someone will show you to your rooms. I have business to attend to. Remember, enjoy your last night of freedom."

And with that, he walked off the stage and out the side door. Calli just caught a glimpse of a red hairedwoman in a KG uniform. _That must be the Baron's daughter, Ashelin, _she thought.

"Well. That was quite the speech." Axel stated, still sitting next to her. Calli had momentarily forgotten he was there.

"That guy was pretty damn serious... But if what he said is true, we might as well enjoy this night!" he looked at Calli with a big smile. "Look! Here comes our steak!" Cali looked over to see a waiter bringing over a tray full of plates. She then noticed the other two guys sitting at her table that she hadn't seen sit down through her near trance-like state as she listened to the Commander. Upon firther conversation she came to know them a little bit. Their names were Travis and Cooper. Two blonde haired, southern boys whose dream was to follow in their fathers footsteps.

As the four of them ate, talked, and laughed, Calli realized that boys were probably going to be the people she hung out with the most over the course of their training. She smiled at the thought. She had never really gotten along with girls as well as she did with guys. And Calli rather liked it that way. No girly drama. They finished their steak and potatoes and sat talking for a few minutes.

"I'm gonna go get my room situated guys." Calli said.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." Travis said, picking up his bag and starting towards the door, Cooper not far behind.

As they were being led to their rooms, Axel asked Calli, "So what made you want to be in the KG? I mean I know not many girls have ever done it, no offense, but I'm just curious."

"Oh none taken," Calli said. "It's just that when I was eight, that man who talked to us, Commander Torn, saved my life. And since then, I just always wanted to be an officer."

"Cool, cool." Axel said.

"So what about you?" she asked him.

"Well, my father said I would never amount to anything in my life, so to prove him wrong, I signed up for the guard as soon as i could. Sure shut im up right quick. Broke Ma's heart though... I figure as soon as we graduate and she sees me in that uniform, she'll be proud and not worry so much."

"Calli Conners?" asked their escort.

"Yes?"

"This is your room here. And it just so happens that yours, Axel, is the one straight across. Get settled and enjoy your night." And with that he was gone.

Calli opened the door to her room. She couldn't believe how big it was. There was a queen size bed against the far wall, a large dresser, closet, desk, and her own private bathroom. The window overlooked the side of Haven that contained the stadium. She loved to go to the races. It was something her father had gotten her into... Calli walked into the bathroom, brushing a small tear from her eye that had formed thinking of her father. She stripped off her clothes and hopped into the shower. The warm water felt good. She just wanted to stand under it all night. As she stepped out of the shower, it all began to sink in. She was really here. Finally.

She got dressed and headed out into the bedroom, towel drying her hair as she went. There was a loud knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Calli asked, pulling thetowel of her head and tossing it on the bed.

"It's Axel!" Calli walked over and opened the door.

"Wanna go for a walk?" he asked, " Travis and Cooper are down the hall, and they wanted to know if you were up for exploring!"

"Yeah, sure." She said. "just let me fix my hair." She grabbed one f her hair ties and threw her hair into a loose and messy bun, and out the door she went to join her newfound friends.


	3. Chapter 3

The next two years were filled with lessons and trials. Combat training was Calli,s favorite. She had become especially good with a rifle. She had had to work harder than anyone else just to make it through her training years. But then again her friends were there with her through it all, helping her through the tough times. She and Axel had become extremely close. He was her best friend, and she his. And now graduation was here, and none of them knew if they would end up in the same unit together, but they could always hope.

The KG had looked into putting Calli through advanced sniper training, but that was another month, and she was ready to graduate and get out on patrol. She was itching to get her tattoos and put on that bright red uniform. She had earned it. She deserved it.

As she sat on her bed, waiting for Axel to come escort her to the banquet hall, she couldn't help but stare at herself in the vanity mirror above her dresser. Calli realized how much she had grown in the past two years. She went from a scrawny sixteen year old, to a strong, filled out eighteen year old. The silky, navy blue gown she had chosen to wear to the ceremony fit her perfectly, flowing in all the right places. She admired the way her hair fell around her shoulders. _It's long…_ Calli thought to herself.

There was a knock at the door. Calli pulled herself out of her daydream and got up to answer it. Axel was handsome in his short and tie.

"May I escort the young lady to the party?" He asked her in a fake accent.

"Why yes, kind sir, you may."Calli replied with a smile on her face.

When they entered the banquet hall, Travis and Cooper came to greet them. Calli admired the scar over Travis's right eye. He had gotten it about a year ago during a Metal head training scenario. He had saved his brother's life that day and was proud to wear that scar.

"Ready?" Cooper asked .

"Ready." Calli replied, gripping his hand for a moment.

They walked to their table together, heads held high. Calli blushed the entire way , seeing out of the corner of her eyes the way some of the other guys were looking at her. _They better take a good, hard look. _She thought to herself. _Because this is the ONLY time they will EVER see me in a dress._

They all took their turns to walk across the stage and shake the Baron's hand.

As Calli shook the Commanders hand, he whispered, "Can I have a word with you after the ceremony?" She nodded and continued down the line, shaking Ashelin's hand as well.

"Congratulations!" she had said to her. "It'll be nice to have another woman around."

She walked off the stage and took her seat once more.

"Hey. There's an after party at the Hip Hog. Wanna go?" Axel whispered in Calli's ear.

"Hell yes I do! But first I have to speak with Commander Torn."

"Okay. We'll just meet you there then."

When the ceremony came to an end, Calli went to find the Commander. He and Ashelin were at a table in the corner of the large room.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" She asked quietly, hoping she hadn't interrupted anything.

"Yes. I wanted to speak to you about your options. You came out on top of your class, proving you have what it takes to be an elite KG officer. We have a meeting set up for you with one of the other officers. Your skills with a rifle could prove useful to him. Tomorrow. 11:00. Meet him at the gates to the palace. Now go with your friends. You've earned it."

Calli saluted and turned to walk out of the hall. She walked out into the night air and breathed deep. Now she even had a job offer? It was everything she had hoped to achieve! She made her way to her zoomer parked down the alley, and climbed on, careful not to ruin her gown. _Maybe I should have changed?_ , she thought to herself as she navigated through the evening traffic to the bar in the port. It wasn't her favorite place, mainly because foe the scumbag owner, Krew. But if you wanted to have a good time, the Hip Hog Heaven saloon was definitely the place to go.

Calli parked her zoomer and headed inside. She could hear te loud music and celebration from outside. All eyes turned to her as she walked through the door. She quickly spotted Axel and the two brothers and headed over to where they sat.

"Why is everyone staring at me" she whispered, as she sat down.

"Because you're beautiful." Travis replied. "And everyone knows it! PLUS they all know you could kick their asses all over this bar." He grinned at her, adding a wink at the end of his statement.

Calli smiled and stole a swig of Axel's drink. Ah. It was a whiskey night. She got up and walked over to the bar. That pretty blonde woman, Tess, was working. Calli had always admired Tess because she could put up with drunk assholes all night long.

"Can I have something strong please?" she asked kindly.

"Graduation night, huh?" Tess asked her.

"Yeah. Finally done!" Calli replied, a bit of relief hung in her voice.

"Well congratulations!" Tess said as she handed Calli her drink. "And never let these boys get the best of ya!"

Calli thanked Tess and turned to walk back to her table.

"Congratulations." Came a mans voice from behind her. She turned around to see a red haired man smiling at her while leaning casually against the bar. From the tattoos on his face, she knew he was a KG officer. And by the way he was dressed he must have been at the ceremony. Come to think of it, Calli thought she had seen him around the training facility once or twice.

"Uh, thanks." Calli smiled at him and continued back to the table.

"What was that about?" Axel asked, leaning around Calli to get a glimpse of the man.

"I… Don't really know…" she said.

A slow song came on over the speakers and Axel stood and offered Calli his hand.

"May I have this dance?"

"Of course," she smiled to him. Axel twirled her onto the floor and pulled her close.

"So are you excited about tomorrow?" He asked her, as they danced together.

"I'm kind of nervous, actually. I just can't believe that anyone would request to see me," she explained.

"Well why wouldn't they? You have a lot of talent! Not only with that rifle of yours, but also in close combat. Any squadron would be stupid not to want you!"

At this, Calli smiled and put her head on Axel's shoulder, and they continued to dance.


End file.
